DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) extended the expiration
date of its $70-per-share offer to purchase smaller rival Airgas
Inc. (ARG), saying as of the stock market's close on Thursday,
shareholders validly tendered 3 million shares.
The takeover bid of nearly $5.9 billion is now scheduled to
expire on Feb. 4 at midnight New York City time, unless further
extended. Airgas has about 85.6 million shares outstanding.
The saga between Airgas and Air Products has played out
privately for more than a year and publicly since last February.
Air Products last month raised its hostile takeover bid for Airgas
by 6.9% and called the offer its "best and final," and threatened
to walk away if a deal wasn't reached soon.
But Airgas's board last month unanimously rejected the bid,
saying the company's value is at least $78 per share and urging
holders to not tender into the revised offer.
The two companies are embroiled in legal proceedings in Delaware
Chancery Court over whether Airgas's shareholder-rights plan,
commonly known as a poison pill, is valid. If Air Products can't
get Airgas's poison pill overturned, its tender offer is
effectively moot.
Shares of Airgas were up 0.4% to $63.90 in after-hours trading,
while Air Products shares were unchanged at $88.50.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480;
john.kell@dowjones.com